


Waiting at Sunset

by LadyOscar



Series: Interludes Between Calls - Shorter works set in the universe of The Telephone Rang [6]
Category: Hawaii Five-O (1968)
Genre: M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2013-10-03
Packaged: 2017-11-23 19:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/625937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOscar/pseuds/LadyOscar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things are worth waiting for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Waiting at Sunset

**Author's Note:**

  * For [senzarit (Janet)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janet/gifts).



Steve McGarrett took a sip of his coffee, looking out over the low railing and past a pair of spreading plumeria trees at the ocean, deep blue in the late afternoon sun.  Despite the gentleness of the swell, a row of hopeful figures bobbed in the water along the break, and a few sailboats could be seen farther out.  On the sand, a group of boys were tossing a football, while couples strolled along the waterline.  The incessant calls of a variety of small birds made a pleasant overlay to the sounds of passing cars.

His contemplation of the view was interrupted by a pretty waitress with a plumeria blossom behind her ear.  “Can I get you anything to eat?” she asked.

“Not right now, thank you,” Steve told her.  “I’m meeting someone.”

“I’ll just leave the menu, then!” she said, moving off to attend to other customers.

McGarrett set his mug down on the counter in front of him, which stretched the length of the second-floor café to take maximum advantage of the view.  He ran a fingertip over one of the innumerable small circular cracks in the deeply lacquered surface.  _Odd, I wonder what caused it to break this way?_ he thought idly, turning his gaze back out over the plumeria.  The dark green leaves and rounded white flowers with their delicate hint of yellow contrasted strikingly with the blue water beyond.  Across the street, the shadows of a row of palm trees lengthened, the clouds now touched with gold and orange as the sun neared the horizon.  Tourists in beachwear passed by on the way to their hotels, though the row of would-be surfers could still be seen in the water, dark dots silhouetted against the blue.  A catamaran with sails striped horizontally in red and yellow slowly cruised by.

The waitress appeared to refill Steve’s cup.  “No sign of your friend yet?” she asked.

“No.  I’m afraid he’s late,” McGarrett answered.

“We’re not busy, wait as long as you like,” she said cheerily.

Steve thanked her, looking at his watch.  _Half an hour past our arranged time,_ he thought, turning to look over the restaurant.  Even though he’d taken his jacket off and draped it over the stool beside him, his shirtsleeves and tie contrasted oddly with the clientele of surfers in shorts and T-shirts and a scattering of tourists in matching lurid aloha wear.  _His choice of meeting place,_ he mused.  _Not a joint I’ve been in before.  Decent enough coffee, though of course the view is what sells it._ Absently he loosened his tie, undoing his top collar button.

The sun was almost touching the horizon now, a shining path of orange light stretching across the deep blue water.  The dark shapes of the palm trees framed the brilliant disk and golden clouds.  A dinner cruiser had joined the remaining sailboats to watch the sunset, and small night birds wheeled and dove around the trees.  McGarrett looked at his watch again.  _Where_ is _he? I hope nothing’s gone wrong._

A band started setting up in the restaurant, a few thumps sounding as the drummer tested his bongos.  Steve watched the sun, an evening breeze ruffling his dark bangs.  The orange circle disappeared abruptly, as though swallowed whole by the ocean, leaving only the golden glory of the sky.  In the East, all was a deep blue, lights winking on to sparkle against the oncoming night.

 _I guess he isn’t coming,_ McGarrett thought, checking his watch once more.  _If something’s happened to him...._ Standing abruptly, he reached into his pocket for change and collected his jacket.  As he turned to leave, he saw the person he’d been waiting for, standing by the hostess stand in a polo shirt and slacks, anxiously scanning the crowd.  Catching sight of the head of Five-O, the man hurried over.

“Steve!  I didn’t think you’d still be here,” he said, taking a seat beside McGarrett.  “One of the kids at the game got hit with a bat and I had to take him to the doctor and track down his parents.  I’m sorry, I should have called the restaurant, but I didn’t realize it had gotten this late until I was in the car and saw the sun was setting.”

“That’s okay, Danno.  Some things are definitely worth waiting for,” his partner said with a smile.


	2. Rain Before Breakfast

Danny Williams looked out through the open slats of his kitchen window at the rain, a sudden burst that had started just before dawn and was now slacking off as quickly as it had started.  In this limbo state between the glittering lights of night and the brilliant sun of day, the buildings outside were almost invisible, hidden by a curtain of gray.

_Sometimes this city almost looks like San Francisco,_ he thought in amusement, putting bread in the toaster, and remembering chilly mists and the omnipresent sound of the foghorn.  _Not exactly the same temperature, though...._

He turned up the heat under the kettle, a pleasant waft of cool moisture through the window underscoring his thoughts as he looked out.  Occasional larger drops were mixed in now, caught by the sun so they glittered like crystals suspended in the air.

By the time he was sitting at the small dinette table with toast and instant coffee, the mist had cleared and the sky was palest pastel blue, tinged with a delicate pink towards the East.  Small rafts of darker blue clouds limned in gold stretched across the western sky as though driven before the rising sun.  The birds, unaccustomedly silent during the rain, were making up for lost time, the short calls of zebra doves, the deeper coos of their larger cousins, the melodious songs of bulbuls, and the whistles of mynahs making a pleasant cacophony.

Morning traffic was picking up, too, the background noises of the cars forming an underlying swish to the closer sounds of the awakening city.  Danny finished his toast, hearing the clatter of kitchen noises from a nearby apartment as the neighborhood stirred to life.  _I certainly eat better when I’m at Steve’s,_ he thought ruefully, washing his few dishes in the sink, the light outside growing stronger as the sun’s rays slanted across the city.

A motorcycle carrying a boy and a girl in a flowered skirt made its way up his street, the purr of the engine cutting through the air.  Danny finished the dishes, stacking the last in the drainer.  _I’m looking forward to today.  We finally caught that psycho who was stalking us, so we don’t have to stay apart any more._

He went to the bedroom to get dressed, smiling as he thought of the day to come.  _Our youth team’s baseball game after work, and then meeting Steve for dinner in Waikiki.  And afterwards, back to his place...._

As he left his apartment building and headed for his car he took a deep breath of the soft air, enjoying the golden light washing the buildings around him and the azure of the sky above.  _Definitely something to look forward to._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place before Vignette #1.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little attempt to convey a Hawaii scene through Steve's eyes, incited by Senzarit.


End file.
